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Fifth Avenue closes between 67th and 86th Streets on Saturday 19 September for the 69th German-American Steuben Parade, and that is one of six street events in the New York City DOT advisory for this weekend.
The list runs across Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, from a Friday procession through the Financial District to a Sunday parade up Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem.
All of it comes with a caveat the department states plainly, and it is the first thing worth knowing if you are picking a neighbourhood to stay in this weekend.
- Saturday, Fifth Avenue: closed 67th to 86th Street for the Steuben Parade.
- Saturday, Third Avenue: closed 66th to 86th Street for a community festival.
- Saturday, Queens: Main Street in Flushing closed for the Moon Festival Parade.
- Saturday, Bronx: Grand Concourse and Mosholu Parkway closed for the Bronx 10 Mile.
- Sunday: Harlem for the African American Day Parade, Broadway 86th to 96th for a street fair.
Fifth Avenue Is the One That Catches Visitors
The Steuben Parade runs up Fifth Avenue between 67th and 86th Street on Saturday, and that stretch is Museum Mile.
The closures go wider than the route itself. Formation takes 67th through 70th Street and 78th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue, plus 71st Street between Fifth and Madison.
Dispersal takes Fifth Avenue from 86th to 96th Street and the cross streets at 86th to 88th between Fifth and Madison, with 77th and 78th between Fifth and Madison listed as miscellaneous.
In practice that is the whole east side of Central Park from the Sixties to the high Nineties, on a Saturday, for a parade in its 69th year. If the plan involves a museum on that stretch, walk in from Madison or Lexington rather than trying to cross Fifth.
Saturday Also Takes Third Avenue and Flushing Main Street
Two more Saturday events land in places visitors actually go.
The 3rd Avenue Community Benefit Festival closes Third Avenue between 66th and 86th Street, which is one long block east of the parade and the obvious alternative north-south route. Both are shut at once.
Out in Queens, the Moon Festival Parade forms on 38th Avenue between Prince Street and Main Street, runs down Main Street from 38th Avenue to Elder Avenue, and disperses on Elder Avenue between Main and Colden.
Main Street is the spine of Flushing and the reason most people come, so a food trip out there on Saturday is a walking trip rather than a driving one. The 7 train and the Long Island Rail Road are unaffected by a street closure.
The Bronx 10 Mile Closes the Grand Concourse
The New York Road Runners New Balance Bronx 10 Mile runs on Saturday and it is the largest single footprint in the advisory.
Closures cover East 153rd Street between River Avenue and East 157th, River Avenue from East 153rd to East 161st, East 161st Street from the Grand Concourse to the Macombs Dam Bridge, and the Grand Concourse itself from East 161st Street all the way to Mosholu Parkway.
Mosholu Parkway is closed between Southern Boulevard and West Gunhill Road, with West Mosholu Parkway South, Paul Avenue and Sedgwick Avenue also listed.
There is a special event construction embargo on those streets from 17 to 19 September. Anyone driving to the stadium area or to the northern Bronx on Saturday morning should assume the Concourse is not available.
Sunday Belongs to Harlem and the Upper West Side
The 57th Annual African American Day Parade closes a large part of central Harlem on Sunday 20 September.
The route runs up Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard from West 111th Street to West 142nd Street, with formation on Adam Clayton Powell between 110th and 114th, the cross streets from West 110th to West 115th between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Lenox Avenue, and a stretch of St. Nicholas Avenue.
Lenox Avenue closes between 136th and 139th Street, and the miscellaneous list adds West 125th and West 126th Street between Lenox and Frederick Douglass, which is the main crosstown pair in Harlem.
On the west side, the 32nd Annual Fall Symphony Fair closes Broadway between 86th and 96th Street for the day.
Friday Starts in the Financial District
Before any of that, the Return of The Buffalo event closes a long loop through Lower Manhattan on Friday 18 September.
The listed streets include Whitehall Street, Broadway from Battery Place to Exchange Place, Exchange Place, Broad Street, Nassau Street, Cedar Street, Liberty Street, Church Street, Park Place, Chambers Street, Centre Street, Federal Plaza and Duane Street.
That covers the walk between the Battery, Wall Street and the World Trade Center site, which is most of a first-time visitor’s downtown day.
Every event in the advisory carries the same qualifier: the streets close at the discretion of the New York Police Department. Timing on the ground is a police decision, not a published schedule.
Some of These Closures Are Not About the Weekend
The advisory also carries long-running closures that a visitor will meet and misread as event related.
Nassau Street between Liberty Street and Maiden Lane is closed 24 hours a day through 31 October for reconstruction. Vesey Street between Greenwich Street and Church Street is closed 24 hours a day through 7 October for construction at 200 Greenwich Street.
Broadway between West 47th and West 48th Street closes from 11.30 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Sunday nights through 30 November for facade and signage work, which is in the middle of Times Square.
The longest one is not a weekend item at all. The southbound Henry Hudson Parkway exit to West 79th Street and Riverside Drive closes intermittently on weeknights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and on Friday nights from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., until 12 May 2027 for bridge steel work.
Read the Final Advisory, Not This One
The department is explicit about what this list is, and it matters more than any single street on it.
A preliminary advisory is posted early in the week and updated when the final advisory is posted on Friday. Everything in it is subject to change, including event dates, times and routes.
It also does not cover emergency closures or long-term construction projects, which is a large gap in a city with both. For live statewide conditions the department points to 511NY, New York State’s official traffic and travel information service.
The practical rule for a weekend visit is to treat the parade routes as fixed and everything else as provisional. Deep Arrival covered the San Gennaro feast dates earlier this month, and the same logic applies: the event is the reliable part, the street list is the part that moves.
| If you are heading to… | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Museum Mile, Saturday | Fifth Avenue closed 67th to 86th Street, plus cross streets to Park and Madison. Approach from Madison or Lexington. |
| The Upper East Side by car, Saturday | Fifth and Third Avenues both closed between the Sixties and 86th Street. |
| Flushing, Saturday | Main Street closed for the Moon Festival Parade. The 7 train and LIRR are not affected by street closures. |
| The Bronx or Yankee Stadium area, Saturday morning | Grand Concourse closed from East 161st Street to Mosholu Parkway for the Bronx 10 Mile. |
| Harlem, Sunday | Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard closed 111th to 142nd, plus West 125th and 126th between Lenox and Frederick Douglass. |
Saturday is the heavy day. Four events across Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, including both Fifth and Third Avenues.
The subway is the answer. None of these are rail closures, and every affected area has a line running under it.
This list is provisional. The department updates it with a final advisory on Friday, and it excludes emergency closures.
Is Fifth Avenue closed this weekend?
Yes, on Saturday 19 September between 67th and 86th Street for the 69th German-American Steuben Parade, with dispersal closures up to 96th Street.
What closes in Harlem on Sunday?
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard from West 111th to West 142nd Street for the 57th Annual African American Day Parade, plus Lenox Avenue and the 125th and 126th Street crosstown pair.
Are the subway and commuter rail affected?
The advisory covers streets, bridges, highways and tunnels. It lists no rail closures, and the department notes that the MTA handles its own work.
Which closures last beyond the weekend?
Nassau Street through 31 October, Vesey Street through 7 October, Broadway at 47th Street on Sunday nights through 30 November, and the southbound Henry Hudson Parkway exit at West 79th Street until May 2027.
Could the list change?
Yes. This is the preliminary advisory. The department posts a final version on Friday and says dates, times and routes are all subject to change.
